Let's dance!ShinshuThe breeze dance

"Dance Nembutsu" is a place where you dance by pounding drums and bells, chanting Nembutsu and entering a state of ecstasy and selflessness, hoping for paradise to go to paradise. It is said that Ippen Shonin, the founder of the Toki sect, traveled around the country and spread it to the people during the Kamakura period, and is a folk entertainment that is said to be the root of Bon Odori.

It is said that this trend isSaku CityThis is the "Atobe Dance Nembutsu" that has been handed down by local residents in Atobe. It started in the winter of Koan 2 (1279). Ippen Shonin, who had been practicing Nembutsu worship throughout the country, returned to Zenkoji Temple on his way home from the Joku War and was swept away in Saku, and visited the grave of his uncle, who was caught up in the Joku War and lost to the land of Saku.Saku CityWe visited. At this time, the Nembutsu memorial service was held, and people's hearts began to swell and devotion began to spurt the Nembutsu, and it is said that the origins were when they began dancing while chanting Nembutsu.

▲ "Atobe Elderly Rest House" near the monument to "Atobe's Dance, the birthplace of Nembutsu" has a corner introducing its history.

Even in the Edo period, when entertainment was strict, traditional dance and nembutsu were allowed, and it was held over five days during New Year and February in the lunar calendar. Records have been recorded that the "Atobe's Dance Nembutsu" was so busy that it was attended by 79 nearby villages.

▲The dojo that will be assembled in the main hall has 49 shops and four torii gates around it, the roof is covered with white cloth, and a phoenix is ​​held at the top to express the flight of the soul.

The revival performance was held in April before the busy season of farming, so a regular meeting is currently held at the main hall of the temple on the first Sunday of April every year. A dojo (stage) with two bays (3.38m) sides, which are considered to be Pure Land, was assembled in the main hall, and two drums were installed in the center. To the head of the two drumming sides, eight dancers chant "Namu Amida Butsu" and dance around the drums as they pound their bells.

Finally, a wisdom dumpling will be distributed to share good fortune with the attendees. These tricolor dumplings are prepared by local people, and continue to support traditional culture in the area, conveying valuable Japanese traditional performing arts that were once considered one of the pleasures of the common people.

Minami, known as the "treasure of folk arts."Shinshu. Various festivals are transmitted to various places through the highways connecting Kanto and Kansai, and are alive and lively, changing depending on history and climate. Among them Nagano Anan Town, located at the southern tip of the prefecture, is so deep that it is known as the legend of the Heike clan's descent, and is a place where unique festivals that are rooted in simple life have been handed down. Two different style dances held during the Obon period have been registered as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Sites.

One of them is "Ninno Bon Odori." This quiet dance has been around for over 500 years in the Niino district, located on the southernmost prefectural border of the town. From 9pm to around 6am the next morning on August 14th to 16th, residents will be serving up the spirits in the shopping district, with six different dances being held every night, without a break. No instruments such as flutes or drums are used, and the only thing ondo is to say is "ondo" by five or six people on top of the yagura, and the "return" voices of the dancers around the yagura. The dance is a circle of dancers that dance in long, narrow circles about 500 meters east and west, with the center of the tower, and the movements are both simple and slow.

▲The ritual of "Dance God-send." The lanterns are stacked in the square, and after a sailing ceremony by the Gyoja, the lanterns are lit with a signal of fireworks.

「民俗芸能の宝庫」といわれる南Shinshu. Various festivals are transmitted to various places through the highways connecting Kanto and Kansai, and are alive and lively, changing depending on history and climate. Among them Nagano Anan Town, located at the southern tip of the prefecture, is so deep that it is known as the legend of the Heike clan's descent, and is a place where unique festivals that are rooted in simple life have been handed down. Two different style dances held during the Obon period have been registered as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Sites.

One of them is "Ninno Bon Odori." This quiet dance has been around for over 500 years in the Niino district, located on the southernmost prefectural border of the town. From 9pm to around 6am the next morning on August 14th to 16th, residents will be serving up the spirits in the shopping district, with six different dances being held every night, without a break. No instruments such as flutes or drums are used, and the only thing ondo is to say is "ondo" by five or six people on top of the yagura, and the "return" voices of the dancers around the yagura. The dance is a circle of dancers that dance in long, narrow circles about 500 meters east and west, with the center of the tower, and the movements are both simple and slow.

During the "Dance God-Subai", dancers who are hoping to stop the end of the Bon Odori dance continue to dance in circles of various sizes, in an attempt to stop the procession, reaching the climax of "Ninno Bon Odori".

Starting in 2004, children's classes have also been held for elementary and junior high school students. The Anan Town Board of Education is also planning to stream live for those who cannot return home in the future.

"The Niino Bon Odori is not something you can enjoy watching, and you can see how fun you can actually dance," says Hayashi. "The choreography is easy to remember and since ancient times, anyone can freely join the dance circle, so I hope many people will come here and participate."

The Wagai Nembutsu Dance is held during the Obon period in Wagai district, located in the deepest mountain and haunted valleys of Anan Town. It is characterized by its dynamic dance, jumping up and down, and is said to have been the most enjoyable event of the year for local people who lived on steep slopes and were busy with farming.

There are various theories about its history, and according to one theory, in 1742, the 15th generation of the Miyashita family, who is said to be the founder of this area, went back to Edo to file a lawsuit, and on his way homeNagano City) and learned it as a souvenir from the village, and told the villagers. However, recent research has also believed that the dance was introduced from Enshu because the shapes of the Enshu Dai Nembutsu, which is passed down in Enshu, the birthplace of the Miyashita family, the founder family.

▲ Men wearing sedge hats with paper pads jump and dance violently. It is said to have summoned the spirits of the dead and expressed the joy that existed with the Buddha.

The dance consists of three parts: "in the garden", "nembutsu", and "wasan", and the centerpiece is "in the garden". The song begins slowly and solemnly and gradually becomes more intense, with six or seven people playing drums, barefoot hitchki (two dancers) leaping in and out, pounding each other's bodies as they slam their bodies together. The energetic 10-minute dance will overwhelm the viewer.